NEW ORLEANS--For as much acclaim as she has received for her efforts on the track this season, the recognition being shown to senior Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ont.) for her success academically is just as well deserved. Reid was named the Outdoor Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year in an announcement made by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and was one of eight Villanova student-athletes to earn a spot on the organization's All-Academic Team. In addition, the Wildcats received a team award on the All-Academic Team.

At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Reid became the first woman in history to win national titles in the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters in the same year. She also won both of those events at the BIG EAST Championships and finished the 2010-11 season with four national titles (cross country individual champion, indoor distance medley relay champion and the two outdoor titles). Reid also finished the 2010-11 academic year with a cumulative 3.41 grade-point average as an English major. She also was chosen as the Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year after winning her first individual national title in the fall.

Reid has consistently received high academic marks at Villanova and is a four-time selection to the BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team. During the Fall 2010 semester in which she won her first national title, Reid also posted a perfect 4.0 GPA. Earlier this summer Reid was named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team after previously being a first team selection to the Academic All-District 2 squad. She has remaining athletic eligibility in both cross country and outdoor track and will return to the Wildcats this fall while pursuing a double major in English and Communications.

In recognition of her success Reid was the recipient of the Honda Award for both cross country and track & field during the past year, and was chosen as a Top 3 finalist for the annual Honda-Broderick Cup.

In order to qualify for the All-Academic Team a student-athlete must carry a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA while also achieving at least one of two criteria in athletic performance. An athlete must either rank in the national top 96 of an individual event or the national top 48 of a relay event during the indoor season, or qualify for the NCAA Championships at the regional and/or national sites during the outdoor season.

A record total of 663 student-athletes representing 172 institutions comprise the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. The BIG EAST had 65 student-athletes represented, including the eight from the Wildcats.

The list of Scholar Teams included 164 institutions, which qualified for the list by having a minimum team GPA of 3.0 for the 2010-11 academic year. Villanova was one of 12 schools from the BIG EAST on the list, as the league led all conferences across the country in number of qualifying teams.